Going Under
by ShatteredHeart-BlueSapphire
Summary: Trunks/OC ONESHOT! Getting caught under the mistletoe with the awkward girl wasn't the most ideal situation; however, when the situation IS right, both are able to express their feelings, and perhaps something can come out of it.


**DISCLAIMER! I do not own Dragon Ball Z or anything else you may recognize. **

**A/N:** It's more of a K+ but I rated it T just in case. This is my first DBZ fic, so please be nice. I didn't know what to write about but I wanted to write a Christmas fic. Besides, I haven't posted anything in a while. I hope you like it! I tried not to make them OOC but I don't know how well I've fared. So please, let me know what you think!

~.~.~.

It was Christmas and Bulma had invited her friends to the Christmas party she was throwing. Vegeta had been quite reluctant, putting up some protest, but he knew his wife wouldn't heed to him, she was just too stubborn. So, here he was. At least he found some amusement in witty arguments with Piccolo and even Kakarroto's eldest brat, Gohan. Also, taunting Kakarroto with a promise of a future spar was good with him. He looked around at everyone else, as expected, they were all socializing, including his wife. His own kid, Trunks, and his best friend (as painful as it was to admit it), Kakarroto's second child, Goten, were talking and laughing.

His eyes settled on the lonely form out in the balcony. Said form belong to thirteen-year-old Anika, a girl who had been living with them at Capsule Corp for a year. Nobody except Gohan and Kakarroto knew much about her, and that was because she trusted them the most, then again, their foolish, easygoing nature gave that sort of confidence he supposed. Bulma had offered her home to the girl because she had been excited by the girl's quiet and malleable personality when it came to trivial matters. Therefore, whenever there was a party or any type of gathering, she knew she could play 'doll' with the girl and dress her up in whatever caught her fancy.

Still, it was ridiculous! Even after a year all they knew was that she had lost her parents and had no other family. Vegeta wasn't quite sure if the girl was human. Sure, she _looked_ like a human, but then, even Kakarroto and himself, being full-blooded Saiyans, looked human. He gathered that there wasn't a _way_ she could be human. She was too strong and quick for a human despite her fragile-looking appearance and her ki was interestingly high, enough to be a good sparring partner for his own kid when Kakarroto's brat or he, Vegeta, weren't available. He shook his head. The girl didn't speak very often and she wasn't very social, in fact, he would think she wasn't practiced in the field as every time she interacted with anyone, it was awkward. She was intelligent though, as she helped Bulma with whatever research she was doing when the woman asked for it.

Trunks and Goten were talking and laughing, but Trunks couldn't help glancing at the lonely girl at the balcony every so often. She was by herself, as she was most of the time. In fact, for the year she had been there, he hadn't even seen her smile very often. His mother had dressed her in a strapless red dress. The top was in a corset style while the rest of it fell down to her ankles. The hem of the dress was fluffy and white. As pretty as she looked in it, he wondered if she was cold as she wasn't wearing a jacket and she was outside. She didn't seem to be as she leaned forward, resting her face in her hands and looking up at the sky as she did often. Almost as if she were daydreaming, reminiscing, or thinking deeply.

"If you're going to keep drooling over her, you might as well go talk to her," his long-time and best friend Goten said, sounding amused.

He glared at his friend and tried to stop himself from blushing. "I'm not drooling," he countered.

Goten rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Still, you should go talk to her, you know you want to," he said with a grin.

Trunks debated this, but decided to do so when his friend encouraged him to do so again. He shrugged and walked toward her. He wasn't sure he wanted to, after all, it was awkward because she lacked social skills and he sometimes didn't know what to say. Besides, he had a big crush on the girl and that just served to make him even more nervous. Ultimately, he found he couldn't turn back even if he wanted to because before he knew it, he was already standing next to her. "Hey," he greeted with a smile.

She blinked at him. "Hello," she said before resuming her looking up at the sky.

He shifted uncomfortably. "Aren't you cold?"

"No," was the simple response.

It was his turn to blink. "But it's cold out here and you've been standing here for a long time," he said.

She was silent for a moment. "I'm using a bit of my ki to stay warm," she answered, her eyes never leaving the sky.

"That's… kind of a waste," Trunks couldn't help but say.

Another silence. "It'd be stupid for anyone to attack this place, considering the world's strongest fighters are here," she said bluntly.

"I guess you're right," he admitted and they were silent. He looked up at the sky as something to do while he thought of something else to say. The night sky actually looked beautiful, the stars twinkling so beautifully against the black of the night. He wasn't sure how long they were like that until he found something to say. "You know, I've always wanted to ask… how is it that you're so strong? I mean, I never see you train except when we spar," he said. He'd been curious for a while, but had just now plucked up the courage to ask.

She was silent again, but for a longer time that he wondered if she had heard him. Finally she said, "I meditate in order to focus my ki. I can tune into my opponent's ki to anticipate or read their moves, since they can't suppress their ki in battle. Focusing my ki raises it, building my strength."

He blinked at her. He hadn't known that. "That's amazing," he said sincerely.

Now she was the one who looked at him and she seemed highly confused. "Really?"

"Yes, it is. If you trained and meditated you could probably get even stronger," he said with a grin.

She stared at him and now he was feeling self-conscious and uncomfortable. His grin faded and he stared back, unsure of what to say to make the tension go away. Or maybe it was just his tension because she didn't seem uncomfortable at all. "It would be exhausting," she said at long last. Returning her gaze to the sky she added, "Meditating takes as much energy as a physical training session."

"Oh," was all he was able to get out before he too returned his gaze to the sky. After a moment he gathered some more courage (from who knew where). "Why don't we go inside for something to drink?"

She was staring at him again. "Why?"

He shifted nervously. Why did she have to make this so hard? He shrugged and stood there awkwardly looking off to the side trying for nonchalance and failing miserably. "Well, it would warm you up for a bit without having to use your ki. Then you can come back," he explained.

She was silent a moment as she examined him. "All right," she finally conceded. They walked toward the open doors but didn't get past the threshold.

"Stop!" Bulma said loudly and accidentally (or perhaps not so much) gaining everyone's attention.

Both teens looked at the woman in surprise and confusion. "What's wrong, mother?" Trunks asked.

"You can't come inside," she said with a smile.

The teens blinked and seemed even more confused. "Why?" he asked. Last time he checked they both lived there. The blue-haired woman, however, didn't answer. After a moment of confused silence, Goten started laughing. After him other people started to chuckle and turn to the others who still seemed confused. Even Vegeta had a smirk on his face now.

"You have to follow tradition," was all Bulma explained.

The teens didn't understand anything. "Tradition…?" Anika asked very quietly beside him.

Finally, Goten decided to show some mercy… or wanted to keep on laughing at his friend's misfortune. "Look up," he finally told them.

Both teens did so and while realization dawned on Trunks enough to make his face flush and his eyes widen in horror, Anika looked just as confused as before. "I don't understand," she said quietly to him.

He looked back at her but couldn't meet her gaze. "We're standing under the mistletoe," he said sounding highly embarrassed.

She blinked at him. "Why does that matter?" she asked curiously staring at him not understanding why he seemed so flustered.

"When two people are standing under the mistletoe, like us, they… they have to… kiss," he explained and the last word was almost a whisper.

"Why?"

"… Because it's tradition. Supposedly, something bad happens if you don't do it," Trunks said.

"Oh," she said after a short pause and then her face too, began heating.

"So, are you guys going to be standing there all night?" Bulma asked watching the two teens in amusement. She thought they looked really cute.

Trunks and Anika stood there not really knowing what to do. Trunks would have liked to have the opportunity of kissing Anika, if people weren't watching… well, even if alone he might not have done it.

He was surprised when after a moment the girl stood on her tip toes and held on to his jacket for balance before pressing her lips to his. Her lips were warm, soft and unmoving, though it could in a sense still be considered a kiss. Then she let go of him and though her face was sporting a noticeable blush, her features were expressionless as she looked back to Bulma. "We don't have to do anything else, right?" she asked and her voice was quiet.

"U-uh… right…" Bulma said surprised. She was surprised that despite the girl's obvious discomfort she had been the one to take the initiative, and not her son, whom she knew had a crush on the girl. Still, Bulma couldn't help but smile. Really, those two were just so cute!

With the girl getting confirmation that nothing more was needed, the girl walked away, leaving a very speechless Trunks to stare after her. She… had just kissed him… on the lips. And he hadn't done anything! Hadn't even held her, hadn't even tried to get her to move her lips against his, hadn't even moved his own lips! He'd let this perfect opportunity go by and he had done _nothing_! He had stood there motionless and done nothing! _She_ had taken the initiative, _she_ had been the one to kiss him. Still, something nagged on him and he wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not. When she had kissed him, her eyes had closed, he knew because his had widened when he realized what was going to happen.

"She so owned you," Goten said staring at his friend and laughing, snapping Trunks out of his thoughts.

Trunks glared at his friend. "You're enjoying yourself too much, Chibi," he said, using the nickname that, now that they were thirteen, had Goten complaining about it.

However, it seemed that Goten was in an awfully good mood as he didn't call him on it. "Well, yeah. I mean, you have this huge crush on the girl and when you finally get a chance, she totally owns you by making the first move and then walks away, totally not looking embarrassed even though she was blushing. Come on Trunks, it's funny," he said and laughed again.

"I'll make it not funny if you keep this up," Trunks threatened, glancing at the topic of their conversation as she sipped from a tea cup. Gohan and Goku were talking to her and she seemed to have relaxed as she mostly listened, or so it seemed by the way she nodded but didn't speak.

"Oh man, you have it bad for her, can't even stop staring at her even after that," Goten said and laughed again.

"I swear, Chibi…" Trunks threatened and glared at his friend.

Goten put his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay, I get it, I get it. Sheesh," he said but he was still grinning. "Now, why don't you go and talk to your girlfriend?" he suggested and laughed.

Trunks gave an irritated sigh. "When I get you back for this, I'll be sure you never forget," he said but indeed stalked off toward Anika.

~.~.~.

The party was over and they had just said goodbye to the last of their guests. "Aren't you tired, Anika-chan?" Bulma asked.

Anika looked at Bulma. "I wish to go for a short walk, if that's all right," was the answer.

"Well, okay. Just be careful," was the woman's response. Anika only nodded.

"Can I go with you?" Trunks asked on impulse. There was something that had happened at the party later, after their little incident, that was bothering him. She blinked at him and nodded. With that, both teens went outside.

Bulma smiled. "Those two are so cute it's funny," she stated.

"What are you talking about?" Vegeta asked in his customary tone. He didn't want to admit he was confused.

"Come on Vegeta, even you should have noticed that your son has a crush on Anika," she said.

"What's so cute and funny about it?" Vegeta grumbled.

"Well, it's cute and funny seeing Trunks interacting with her and Anika's obliviousness to it," she attempted to explain. Considering who she was talking to, she doubted he understood what was cute and funny about it.

"Hm," was all Vegeta said to that.

~.~.~.

Trunks and Anika had stopped walking and she was looking up at the sky again. Trunks wasn't sure how he was going to go about asking. He decided to jump into it and go along with it. "Hey, Anika?"

She turned to stare at him but didn't say anything. He decided he might as well do it. "I want to ask you something, b-but it's okay if you don't want to answer… you know… if you think it's too personal or something…" he trailed off. She continued to stare at him but she didn't say anything, nor gave any indication of stopping him or not. "Um… at the party, when Marron kissed her dad…" he trailed off again when she turned her head back up to the sky before he could finish what he was saying. Yeah, maybe he had crossed the line, but he wanted to ask because after that she had excused herself to go back to the balcony and she had looked like she wanted to cry.

It was a long time before either of them said anything. She was the one who broke the silence. "Memories," she said simply.

"What?" he asked with a slight frown.

Again, she was silent for a long time. "I remembered… my parents…" was all she said still looking up at the sky.

"Oh," was the only thing he could articulate. He felt guilty for bringing it up again, and he also felt sad for her.

He was very surprised when she spoke again. "I felt… like crying…" she trailed off and paused before saying, "because I was sad… but also happy…"

By all means, Trunks was confused. "Why were you happy?"

She replied after about a minute. "I was happy… for her… because she can still create wonderful memories with those who are precious to her," she answered and after another moment she added, "And I was happy for me… because I did have the opportunity of creating long lasting and wonderful memories with my own parents… and those whom I care about."

Trunks watched her without saying anything, there wasn't much he could say. He watched her as she looked up at the sky, and in the dimness he saw she was crying. He was surprised, as he had never seen her cry before. Wordlessly, he placed a hand on her shoulder. When she turned to look at him, he took a step closer. The tears were coming faster now, though it was a bit strange how her expression didn't change.

He felt that she needed comfort, and so he hugged her, pinning her arms to her sides. He pulled her against him as he placed his face in her hair. She didn't draw back, in fact, she was quite still. She hadn't stiffened, but she hadn't quite moved either. Still, he didn't let go. Despite everything, he knew that she needed this, whether she realized it or not. Finally, after a long time, she raised her hands as far as she was able to and fisted them in his jacket as she pressed her face against his chest. Her shoulders now shook slightly as she cried and he held her a little tighter. He could hear her shuddering breath and could feel her shaking. He made shushing noises as he began stroking her hair.

Trunks wasn't quite sure how long they were there, but it felt like a long time and he didn't want to move, so he was reluctant when she pulled away from him. He should have probably let her go, but he kept his arms around her loosely. She didn't say anything about it, she usually didn't say much of anything of things she considered trivial. She looked up at him and her cheeks were tear-stained and her eyes big and glassy. She blinked at him a few times. "… Thank you…" she said looking a little awkward and sounding a little uncomfortable.

He smiled slightly. "It's okay. I'm glad I could help… even if it's only a little," he assured.

She blinked at him. "You understand then?" she asked uncertainly after a moment.

Now he was the one blinking at her. "Yes, I understand now," he told her.

She nodded and she was staring at him as if she were trying to figure something out. He didn't say anything, he didn't move, he simply stared back. It felt like an awfully long time before he got up the courage to do something. If she flipped, she'd have a right to, but at least they would be alone.

He cupped her cheek before leaning down and kissing her. He moved his lips slowly against hers, and her lips, like before, were warm, soft, and unmoving. She herself didn't move, but her eyes closed. He allowed his eyes to close as well. He would have pulled back, but she wasn't pushing him away and so he didn't stop. It was a moment before he felt her lips moving hesitantly against his. He silently encouraged her by tightening his hold on her slightly as he pressed his lips a little harder against hers. They were both breathing through their nose, and his breath stuttered slightly when he felt her hand brushing his cheek before she rested her hand there.

They pulled away, and he was very reluctant to do so, but it had to be done sooner or later. Once their eyes opened, she immediately let her hand drop and she stared at him. She didn't look surprised, regretful, or disgusted. Then again, she didn't look happy, excited, or like she was going to kiss him again. "Why?" she asked simply.

He blinked at her. Why? She wanted to know why? Again he wondered why she had to make things so difficult for him. He couldn't meet her gaze and this time he knew even before he tried that he couldn't pull an act of nonchalance. "Anika… I really like you… not just as friends… but more," was the best he could do to explain it to her.

She tilted her head to the side a little. "Then why didn't you kiss me when we were under the mistletoe?"

He blinked at her before he gave a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his head. Damn it! He had to stop picking up Goten's habits of nervousness! "Well, because the situation was unexpected really… a-and well, I wasn't really sure what to do… because there were so many people watching…" he trailed off and looked helplessly at her.

She nodded but didn't say anything as she looked back up to the sky and sighed quietly. He watched her a moment before he drew her closer and he too looked up. A moment paused before he looked back at the girl. "Say, Anika?" he asked nervously.

She simply looked at him and blinked. He took a deep breath to steady himself. "Would you… ever consider… u-um… being my girlfriend?" he asked and then cleared his throat.

She didn't say anything right away, as was custom. "No," she finally said.

His eyes snapped to hers and he felt like the air had been knocked out of him. "A-ah…" that was all he could say as he felt real disappointment grip at him.

She blinked as she watched him. "I wouldn't have to consider it because I'd simply say yes," she explained and he wondered what kind of expression he had made to cause her to explain.

Because of the feelings that were swirling in him and her added response, he felt confused. He had to pause to think about this for a moment before a his eyes widened and he grinned hugely at her. "So, if I asked you to be my girlfriend right now… you'd say yes?"

She blinked at him. "Yes," was all she said. She didn't explain why she would say yes or anything of the like, but he knew she wouldn't unless he asked her.

He laughed before he kissed her again. When he pulled back she was smiling a little at him, though she seemed a bit confused. Still, he was surprised as it had been very few times that he'd seen her smile. He lifted her up until he was looking up at her. Sometimes she really did seem like a doll. When he did this she seemed startled before her face settled into one of confusion. "Thank you, Anika," he said and now he was smiling at her. She nodded mutely at him. He then set her down and placed his arms around her.

She blinked at him. "Are you feeling all right? You seem kind of… strange," she said.

He stared at her a moment before something dawned on him. "Um, Anika, do you know what I asked?" he queried suddenly.

She seemed more confused than before. "Yes, you asked me to be your girlfriend," she said slowly.

"Yes, but do you know what that _means_?" he asked. He needed to be sure she knew what he was talking about.

She gave him an odd look and was silent a moment. "Yes," she said and after a pause continued, "When two people hold romantic feelings for each other, one of them, usually the male or dominant one, will ask the other to be their romantic partner. In this case, you asked me to be your girlfriend, and I accepted. That would mean you are my boyfriend, and I suppose that by extension that means we are now in a relationship."

"Then… you like me the way I like you?" he asked. Why was she being so nonchalant about it?

She was silent a moment and by her expression, it seemed like she thought something was very wrong with him. "Bulma-san explained it to me. She said that being in a relationship with someone was a beautiful thing. She said that it should only happen when both parties feel the same for each other, because that's the best way. If I didn't return your feelings, I wouldn't have accepted your proposal," she told him. After a long moment where he only stared at her and she stared back, she sighed quietly. "It seems as if my lack of reaction has you questioning whether or not I understand what being in a relationship means." She stepped back from him then and he felt his heartbeat speed up and definitely not for positive feelings. Maybe he had offended her? He felt a lot better when, after some time, she took his hands in hers and looked right into his eyes. "I really do return your feelings, Trunks," she said to him. He knew she was serious, not by her expression, but by the way she addressed him. She always used 'Trunks-san' when she spoke to him, but now she hadn't.

His happiness had mellowed down so he wasn't overreacting. He smiled at her. "Thank you, Anika," he said again. She nodded and again, offered him a little smile.

After staying there for a while, without much talking, they decided they should go inside. He gave her a good night kiss. She looked at him a moment and took his hand before he could turn away. It took her a moment, but then she said, "It makes me… happy… that this happened… on such an eventful day." She let go of his hand and stood there awkwardly a moment.

He smiled gently. She wasn't used to expressing herself, and yet she had done so ever since his first question on their walk. He was glad, that as friends she had trusted him enough to tell him… and hoped that as his girlfriend they could build a meaningful relationship enough for her to share more of her feelings with him. "I'm glad you think so, Anika. It makes me happy that you accepted me, on this eventful day," was his response. They stood there for a moment. "Goodnight, Anika," he finally said.

"Goodnight, Trunks-san," she said and with that, both went into their respective bedrooms feeling content.

**** So, what'd you think? This wasn't beta'd and I think Trunks was OOC in this. Aw, heck. Anyway, please review and tell me what you thought about it! ****


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